Title: Skipping A Beat
Author: Sarah Pekkanen
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Publication Date: February 22, 2011
Paperback: 352 pages
ISBN: 978-1451609820
Genre: Fiction
WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOUR HUSBAND SUDDENLY WANTED TO REWRITE THE RULES OF YOUR RELATIONSHIP?
My Thoughts:
I have heard nothing but high praise for Skipping a Beat and while I enjoyed the storyline, I was not emotionally invested like I was in The Opposite of Me. So after reading Skipping a Beat, which is told through Julia’s voice, I wanted to know what a man would think of this book. Would a husband have the same thoughts as his wife? This is where my husband came into the picture and he agreed to read the book, rate the book and write his first review of a book. After he completed the book we briefly discussed the book and while I found I related better to Michael than Julia, my husband said he was unable to relate with either character. Without further ado…
My Husband’s Review:
It is truly a rare circumstance when a single event has such a profound effect on life, and in Sarah Pekkanen’s novel Skipping a Beat, we are immersed into the lives of a man and woman who have chanced upon one of those circumstances. Michael and Julia spent the better part of their lives together, beginning as high school sweethearts who went through college together and finally tying the knot once out of school. Life threw its share of difficulties at the young couple, requiring them to expend a lot of their energy on just getting by. Their dedication to their respective careers (Julia started her own party planning company while Michael eventually won success in his health beverage company) eventually pays off, but with success came simultaneous losses borne by their marriage as Michael’s growing interest in his burgeoning drink company gradually took more of his time, leaving less for his relationship with Julia. To compensate for the loss of intimacy and attention from her spouse, Julia found comfort in embracing the amassed possessions of the now very successful and wealthy couple. With so much reliance on material possessions, few events could derail the faux happiness built around the inanimate, so when Michael has a near-death experience, his perspective becomes instantly transformed as he discovers the veil of wealth that stood between him and the reality of his life. Michael suddenly loses his desire for the material things to which Julia remains intimately attached, a metamorphosis none too comforting for Julia, a twist made ironic by the fact that Michael now wishes to devote his time to his wife. The questions Julia must answer in order to bring order to her life with the “new” Michael make for a rather interesting read and Pekkanen offers some rather pensive discussion questions in the appendix, questions that make this a great discussion group pick.
Sarah Pekkanen is the author of The Opposite of Me and Skipping a Beat. Her work has been published in People, The Washington Post, USA Today, The New Republic, The Baltimore Sun, Reader’s Digest, and Washingtonian, among others. She writes a monthly Erma Bombeck type column for Bethesda Magazine, and has been an on-air contributor to NPR and E! Entertainment’s “Gossip Show.” She is the winner of a Dateline award and the Paul Miller Reporting Fellowship. Sarah lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland with her husband and three young sons.
To learn more about the author and her books please visit her website.
I received a complimentary copy of Skipping A Beat by Sarah Pekkanen from BookSparks PR to offer my honest review of the book. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned book.
I like the she said, he said review format
I enjoyed the novel!
Thanks! I told my husband about the book and he asked if he could read it and viola, he did. I was shocked and pleased.
I was emotionally invested in this book! I love that your husband agreed to read it and write a review. This was fun!
I liked seeing his take on the book.
I love that you both read it and reviewed it. I look forward to my reactions.
It was a lot of fun and I did not except him to read it as he does a lot of technical/scientific reading for his job.
Love the review by the hubby! Very cool. I really enjoyed this book and connected with it more than Opposite of Me. It was fun to read this post.
I preferred The Opposite of Me. It was fun hearing what my husband thought of the book.
Love the tag team review! It’s always nice to hear a male’s perspective of a fiction novel. I’ve heard nothing but good reviews for Skipping a Beat and finally picked up my own copy.
I was curious what his perspective would be.